An Unwavy Winter

I haven't posted much this month 'cause I don't have much to post about surfing. G-town has been completely flat lately, at least on the weekends when I can get down there. I think there have been a few good days during the week, but nothing on the weekend -- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Despite not surfing, I've been keeping myself busy with training. I have approximately 22 days until my Austin Half-Marathon. I'm starting to look forward to it. If I can actually complete that run, I'll feel pretty darn proud. Who would have ever thought I would be running 13.1 miles. I first started running when I was in high school. Okay, so I actually ran way before that, but high school was the first time I ran for pleasure and fitness. During my senior year in school, I ran three miles every morning before school. It felt good. I would run periodically throughout the years, but nothing quite as serious as when I was a senior...until recently. In December, I was thinking about my "bucket" list and it included running a marathon. Of course, some regular runners I know told me that choosing a half-marathon would be a lot smarter for someone just starting out who wanted to run a long distance soon. I've been practicing once or twice a week ever since. I think I'll be able to do it.

In between practice runs, though, I'll be surfing whenever possible!

BARBADOS BAAA-BAAAY

I've decided that I have to go someplace warm every January or February. For the last three years, we've done just that. This year, my surfing buddy, Robin, suggested that we meet her in Barbados during January. As a lecturer on a British cruise line, she was joining and leaving the cruise in Barbados. She joined them in December and got off Jan . 3. Her husband Dan, Rob and I decided to meet her on Jan. 4. She had done a lot of research ahead of time and found out that surfers at her and my skill level could actually find some waves that weren't "over our head" so to speak. She had also found out about a couple of surf instructors.

Our first surf lesson was at Surfer's Point, a short 10-minute drive from our hotel. The surf school operation included three main instructors Olly, Junior and a third instructor (I think his name was Jason). They handed me a board and I went out on my own, but was advised by Olly to stay closer to the are a where they were giving lessons. I did so and was proud to say that I caught many waves that day, despite cutting my foot on the rocks my first step in the water.

Our second third lesson came from Christian Boos of Boosy's Surf School and included two great sessions at South Point and at Freight's Bay. The water was incredibly blue. The only drawback was the rocky bottoms at all the beaches and the entrance to the water, which was only accessible by walks down narrow, rocky paths. The paths weren't bad if a person was just walking them, but holding a board and trying to maneuver a path could be a bit tricky. All in all, though, the surfing was fabulous and I/we had a blast.

We were even able to rent a board one day outside of our hotel, but the surfing area at our hotel was close to shore, which meant we only had short rides while surfing. The experienced guides that were part of our hotel had no trouble making it look exciting and fun, but for me and Robin, the rides were short and the paddle-out was a tad time consuming.

One day, we hired a driver to drive us around the island. We made a stop at the famous "Soup Bowl" at Bathsheba where experienced surfers go to seek their thrills. We watched from a cliff, which made the waves look smaller than they probably actually were, and half-heartedly decided that we might have been able to surf one or two of the waves coming in. (hee hee) The waves just looked so small from up above.

Can't wait to find a new surf destination! Exploring islands and small coastal towns is definitely a lot of fun.

Winter flatness

I haven't been surfing in two weeks! I went in mid-November on a Friday afternoon and got pushed around with some rough and mushy waves, but, since then, no waves can be found. Forecasts predict waves for this weekend, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Friday. I've been staying busy though. I've decided to run a half-marathon in February despite the fact that I haven't run more than four miles in ten years. This will require some training on my part. So, I bought new tennis shoes last week and started running. I might have overdone it a little the first week. I ran Monday, Wednesday and Friday for approximately three miles. My legs and hips were hurting, but after cycling on Saturday, I was feeling back to normal. A friend from spin class has agreed to help me train, which is incredibly kind of him. This past Monday, he took me on a 5+ mile run. I didn't break any records with a 9.5 minute mile, but I am proud of the distance. Tomorrow we are supposed to do interval training, which is not something I'm really looking forward to but something that I probably need to do to increase my speed. I hope the day-after pain in my legs stops soon. My hip-opener exercises are helping. And, I think surfing will also help. Here's to hoping for waves!!!